By Cpl. Antonio Rosas
1st Marine Division
CAMP AL QA’IM, Iraq, June 9, 2006 — When he joined the Marine Corps in 2002, Cpl. Joshua W. Dale never thought he would be using his welding experience to defeat insurgents in western Iraq.

The 23-year-old section leader with A Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, brought his ideas to life by inventing a breaching bumper for a Humvee in his mobile assault platoon.

The breaching bumper is mounted on the front of the Humvee and resembles a large arrowhead made of thick steel. The bumper is used to do one thing – tear through anything that gets in the vehicle’s way.

“We needed something on our Humvees to assault through barriers, like locked gates and low brick walls,” said the native of Silver Street, S.C. “This bumper will go through just about anything.”

While the bumper has not been tested, other similar devices of lesser craftsmanship have proven somewhat effective. Dale wanted to build something that would not break or bend like those he had seen crudely constructed on the fly by other Marine units.

The bumper, which allows Humvees greater flexibility when assaulting the enemy during raids and cordon-and-knock operations, is an alternative to using any type of explosives – the norm when Marines encounter barriers or walls.

“When you use explosives you risk alerting the enemy from the loud noise of explosions,” said Dale. “With this breaching bumper you can rupture barriers and overcome obstacles in less time and without giving away your position to the enemy.”

Use of the bumper on barriers also minimizes collateral damage - a priority for the Marines conducting security operations alongside Iraqi Security Forces in Iraq’s western Al Anbar province.

Nicknamed “the destroyer,” the bumper is a major asset for mobile assault platoons – a security element of Marines in armored Humvees with an assortment of infantry weapons. A platoon provides a heavy presence in the community and is used to disrupt enemy operations.

Marines in the region use the mobile assault platoon to provide a steady presence in local communities and to weed out insurgents hiding in local towns, said 1st Lt. Paul D. Quinn, the MAP officer for A Company.

"If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get a million miles per gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside." -Robert X. Cringely